Wow, it really sounds like an authentic archaeology report! I don't know much about that, but it looks real to me! I love the fact that Harry is the one to care for Dumbledore's resting place and that he is found in a house built for a big family, embracing Ginny. The way you see it all from the future, not knowing who he is but sensing the strength of his magic is just amazing. I just hope they don't disturb them...

nice story! Its amazing what is currently the present will one day be a distant memory and things that were important at one time will be forgotten... like teh french revolution or the world wars or 9/11....

This is amazing, one of the most beautifull story i have read. I have no word of complaint, I just thought is ws perfect. Loved the idea of Harry being the caretaker of dumbeldore's grave, because like said in the books he is dumbeldore's man. Would like to know how the will like the discovery that they found Harry and Ginny resting place because I gues that will be even a bigger discovery than dumbeldore's thomb.

RhetorWednesday 18th July 2007 12:46

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you so much. Some others have asked me to work on a sequel along the lines you suggested, and I have a teeny bit of it written, but I don't know whether I'll ever finish it. ~Ken

You are a master of innuendo. I, on the other hand, am a very nosy person. Can you imagine my frustration?

RhetorSunday 22nd April 2007 06:26

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you! Sorry to cause you frustration -- but innuendo is necessary in a fic like this, because too much detail would wind up sounding silly and false. Letting the reader fill in the gaps makes those details more powerful... ~Ken

I have not, as yet, read all of your stories. When you read as much Harry Potter fan fiction as I do, you go through a lot of dross to reach the real nuggets. I hold off on reading your material because I know that I can count on it to be well written, interesting, and consistent within its own frame of reference. I hold off because I know that when I've just gone through a bunch of real losers, and just can't find something all that worthwhile, I can always head for PhoenixSong and go to your page. I dread the day when I reach out, click the mouse, and I find I've read all you've written.

I haven't checked (I will now that I think of it), but do you post on other sites, and if so, do you use the same pen name?

RhetorFriday 20th April 2007 08:54

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you for that praise; it's humbling. I'm so glad you find my stories worthwhile.

I post on SIYE as kschneyer, although the only story appearing there that hasn't appeared here is A Slow Boat to Shippers' Hell, which is essentially a satire of SIYE itself. I've also posted on Mugglenet Fan Fiction (also as Rhetor), but there's nothing there that isn't here. The prize-winning version of The Torch,, which is much shorter than the version here, appears on Sugar Quill (also as Rhetor).

If you want to read the stuff I haven't posted on archives yet (because it's incomplete or unbeta'd) you can check out my livejournal page, rhetoretician.livejournal.com. A few chapters of my as-yet-unposted multichapter Snape fic are there, as is an action/angst piece about Fabian and Gideon Prewett.

Nice piece, but, given the time frame (some 3500 years later) and the awe with which the 'Caretaker' is held, wouldn't his virtuosity transcend not 5 or 6 generations (about 150 years?) but 50 or 60 generations?

RhetorThursday 19th April 2007 10:40

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thanks!

Well, I think the archeologist was saying that such genius is so rare that it only comes up once every 150 years or so -- not that it had never been seen in the intervening 3,000 years. If such abilities skip only five or six generations, then seeing actual evidence of one, at a distance of three millenia, is statistically almost impossible. That's why the excavators were so awed.

Wow. Well, Rhetor - you are a master writer, no doubt about it. I loved this glimpse of yours into the future and have not trouble seeing why Mary praise your work. I really like how the spells cast by Harry still holds power, and I'm really curious as to whether thye will continue their excavations and find a way "for respectful visitors to learn from his life." I'm not an archeologist, neither have I read an actual report, but it felt real for a layperson like me. And who knows how they will phrase their reports 3475 years from now? Which raises another point - why did the Emigration happen? Was it emigration from the Earth? For what reason? Ah, the pleasures of musings...

Thank you so much, it's stories like this that make life in fandom worth living.

Cheers!
Berte

RhetorThursday 19th April 2007 10:38

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you Berte; I'm so glad it was meaningful to you. (And Mary's praise, as you know, means a great deal to me too.)

I haven't really worked out why the Emigration happened. Maybe you can tell me!

Hi Ken. I've already said loads about this, and it's all still true or relevant.

I like the idea of a sequel to this. Actually, now that I think of it, this would form a perfect basis for something that could take place in Jonathan Avery's universe described in "Curse Breakers: The Maya" on SIYE. Harry and Ginny's house is, after all, a protected tomb, just as the ancient Egyptian pyramids are in modern fictional times. (I recommend his work to you, as I have yours to him.)

Aside from that, however, I do see the difficulty. You've said something with this story, rather than just describing a sequence of events. I'm sure you understand that phrasing based on our previous discussions. If you wanted to write a sequel, you'd have to find something more to say . The ongoing challenge.

For once, however, I have a thought. What is this far-future society like? What tenets is it based on, where did they come from, and how do they affect the society on a day-to-day basis? If you'll pardon my mangling of your field, what constitutes their constitutive rhetoric? Assuming that they have somehow mostly forgotten Harry and Ginny Potter (I insist that she ends up as heroic as he), what effect might proof of their existence have? I can only liken the potential effect to what might happen if we 21st century types were suddenly presented with irrefutable proof that an unpopular religion (cola-can worship, perhaps) is absolutely correct.

I know it's not necessarily polite to go poking at another author's brain, but I think there are loads of meaningful possibilities for how the discovery of site HH-88 could impact future magical society in very fundamental ways. There are lots of things to say with that idea.

In some ways, I wish you would stop writing. You keep getting better at it, and I keep getting humbler in response. Still, the product is worth the side-effects, so I will soldier on.

Dave

RhetorThursday 19th April 2007 10:36

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thanks, Dave.

I really should read "The Maya," but I've never managed to get it into my queue.

First of all, feel free to prod at my brain as much as you like; I like the way you think. It did occur to me, at one point, to write a scene between the archeologists in which it becomes clear who Harry is (something like the gasps when Mallory's body was found on Mt. Everest), but it didn't move me.

The project you suggest is a lot broader in scope -- maybe more than I can handle. I've been tending to shy away from having too much backstory, because once I start I find that I'm paralyzed until I've worked the whole thing out. So if I could find one very narrow avenue to take along the lines you suggest, it might do something for me.

For that very flattering last line, all I can do is thank you. It doesn't always feel, to me, as if I'm improving; sometimes just the opposite. So it's very welcome to know that someone who's judgment I trust thinks I'm getting better. (Humility, however, is probably not appropriate in your case; you know how much I admire your work.)

Oh, that was wonderful! They found the remains of Harry and Ginny, and they don't even know it! I wonder if they realize that they found the body of Harry Potter - the Chosen One/ Boy-Who-Lived. Excellent story, keep up the good work!

Rhetor - this is great! I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in American history, so I spend a sizeable portion of my time reading page after page of stuff similar to this (though, admittedly, I have no training in archeology whatsoever). And I have to tell you that you have struck a *perfect* tone. The bureaucracy, the almost-but-not-quite-humble forensics narrative, the "post-Emigration" classification, and everything else is spot on. I REALLY enjoyed reading this. You took a fresh approach to fanfiction writing and I loved it! I hope I'll get to read more or your work in the future.

Rhetor - this is great! I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in American history, so I spend a sizeable portion of my time reading page after page of stuff similar to this (though, admittedly, I have no training in archeology whatsoever). And I have to tell you that you have struck a *perfect* tone. The bureaucracy, the almost-but-not-quite-humble forensics narrative, the "post-Emigration" classification, and everything else is spot on. I REALLY enjoyed reading this. You took a fresh approach to fanfiction writing and I loved it! I hope I'll get to read more or your work in the future.

RhetorWednesday 18th April 2007 07:03

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you so much! (And call me Ken. :rolleyes

From your comments, I'm guessing that you might enjoy my story The 312th Edition, which was another attempt to employ a voice that normally you wouldn't see in fan fiction. There's something vaguely similar in the Epilogue to my story On the Headmaster's Wall.

You actually have something interesting here, covering the excavationg of Dumbledore's Tomb, and later the residence of Harry and his wife, Ginny (Probably )

As for how the report reads, it sounds like most official documents and reports I have read: sticking to the facts, allowing for some hypothesis where enough information can conceivably back it up to give it merit.

I find it interesting how you portray it as happening between 5471 and 5474 C.E. The change to an Emigration calendar is likely once, and if, Humanity begins its' diaspora to the stars.

The use of magic is nice, detailing that it has advanced, but what about Non-Magical societies? That would be interesting as well.

RhetorWednesday 18th April 2007 01:12

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Hi! Thank you for that review.

I thought about the possibility of an Emigration to the stars (which has been, of course, the subject of many SF stories), but I was primarily concerned to get the wizards out of Britain for long enough a lot of informaiton to be lost. These archeologists, like the wizards of the HP world, aren't especially interested in Muggles.

Being a classical archaeology student myself, I loved this. It's really rare to find such a unique piece of fanfiction. And the instant you spoke of the elderly couple embrace on the bed, my mind jumped to the so-called "Romeo and Juliet" skeletons you refered to.

You did an excellent job of conveying an archaeological report, if not a tad bit too casual. The way you laid this "report" out reminded me of Heinrich Schliemann and the Treasure of Priam.

If you're interested in this sort of thing, there's some light reading I'd recommend. And not Hermione's type of light reading, but ACTUAL light reading. Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay is a satirical "archaeological write-up" of the discovery of modern American culture in the future of 3850 CE.

Being a classical archaeology student myself, I loved this. It's really rare to find such a unique piece of fanfiction. And the instant you spoke of the elderly couple embrace on the bed, my mind jumped to the so-called "Romeo and Juliet" skeletons you refered to.

You did an excellent job of conveying an archaeological report, if not a tad bit too casual. The way you laid this "report" out reminded me of Heinrich Schliemann and the Treasure of Priam.

If you're interested in this sort of thing, there's some light reading I'd recommend. And not Hermione's type of light reading, but ACTUAL light reading. Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay is a satirical "archaeological write-up" of the discovery of modern American culture in the future of 3850 CE.

RhetorWednesday 18th April 2007 01:09

Report on the Excavations of Sites HH-87 and HH-88 (Author Response)

Thank you! I knew there had to be some real archeologists out there who would be able to tell me how far off I was. I suspected that I may have got too casual, but the tone was already so dry for most fanfic readers that I was concerned about losing them altogether. And thanks for the Macaulay tip!